Medical Marijuana Supply Running out in Maryland

After less than one full week of sales, Maryland medical marijuana dispensaries are already running out of product.

Lasst week, the first medical marijuana dispensary opened in Maryland after years of delays. But patients could be forced to wait some more.

In just a matter of days since sales started, Maryland dispensaries are almost entirely out of inventory.

“It is quite expected — the demand — in any new industry is not as consistent as one would like, and so the growers released limited product, and now a lot of folks, because of the high demand, ran out,” said William Askinazi, co-owner of Potomac Holistics, according to CBS Baltimore.

The initial supply crunch was always a possibility. Nevada went through a similar drought just after recreational marijuana sales started in July.

“The first harvest came through in a smaller amount, second, third, fourth, fifth harvest, which are cyclical, which will start coming through in an abundance, that will satisfy the demand, and then prices will come down,” Askinazi said.

But the industry is expected to be back on track and be able to keep up with future demand

“A lot of the folks on both sides of the aisle, the dispensary aisle, the grower aisle, but most importantly, the patients, understood, and when you roll out any new industry, there will be a few hiccups, and I’m confident we are now over those hiccups,” according to Askinazi.

While the supply shortage may seem like the industry was not ready, this may not be the case at all. Maryland delayed the opening of marijuana dispensaries for years. Without firm starting dates months in advance, it is difficult for growers to gauge how much product they need to produce. If growers spend big money to get their supply ready and then shops are unable to open, growers could be stuck with their product and lose huge sums of money. This can set them back significantly or force them out of business entirely.